


Hush Thee, My Darling

by hazelNuts



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon Universe, Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, Oblivious, POV Dean Winchester, Pining, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 13:01:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14189499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelNuts/pseuds/hazelNuts
Summary: When the motel they're staying at only has two rooms left, Dean ends up having to share a bed with Cas. And it's fine. Totally fine.‘Sorry, boys,’ the clerk says, shrugging apologetically. ‘I do have two doubles left, but only one with two queens.’‘Jack and I will take the queens,’ Sam says. He accepts the keys the clerk offers him.‘We will?’ Jack asks. ‘We will,’ he agrees, after an insistent look from Sam and a quick look at Dean and Cas.‘Guess we’ll be bunking then, buddy,’ Dean says, clapping Cas on the shoulder with much more joviality than he feels.





	Hush Thee, My Darling

**Author's Note:**

> If you think I forgot any tags, please let me know in the comments.
> 
> Many thanks to [thereadingnome](http://thereadingnome.tumblr.com/) for betaing!!!

 

‘Sorry, boys,’ the clerk says, shrugging apologetically. ‘I do have two doubles left, but only one with two queens.’

‘Jack and I will take the queens,’ Sam says. He accepts the keys the clerk offers him.

‘We will?’ Jack asks. ‘We will,’ he agrees, after an insistent look from Sam and a quick look at Dean and Cas.

‘Guess we’ll be bunking then, buddy,’ Dean says, clapping Cas on the shoulder with much more joviality than he feels. He grabs the key Sam dangles in front of his face, then makes sure Cas and Jack are in front as they walk out of the office to punch his little brother in the arm with all the annoyance he feels.

They grab their stuff from the car and make their way to their rooms.

Dean’s mind is racing, his heart is in his throat, as he trails after Cas. He’s shared a room with him before, but never a bed. Will it be any different? Will it be harder to keep his feelings to himself? Sam keeps telling him that he should talk to Cas about it, but he doesn’t think that a motel room in a small, no-name town in Nebraska is the place to do it. And it’s scary. They’re best friends, and while he can usually read Cas pretty well, he’s having a bit of trouble when it comes to Cas’ feelings towards himself.

‘If you’d rather not share a room with me, I’m sure Jack would be happy to switch,’ Cas says, interrupting Dean’s racing thoughts. ‘He doesn’t need much sleep, and I don’t need any,’ Cas continues. ‘So the one bed won’t be a problem.’

‘We’ve shared a room before,’ Dean says with a frown. ‘Do you not want to share a room with me?’

Instead of answering, Cas opens the door and steps inside. The room is no different from any other motel room Dean’s slept in; there’s not even a theme, unless the theme is The Average American Motel Room. Though, the carpet looks clean, the sheets smell fresh, and when he checks the bathroom there are no hairs or toothpaste stains to remind him of previous occupants, which is all that really matters.

‘You wanna shower first?’ Dean asks, dumping his bag on the bed.

‘I don’t need a shower.’

‘I know, but I thought you liked them?’ Dean fishes for his bathroom supplies. ‘You can borrow my stuff if you want.’ He looks up to find Cas staring at him with raised eyebrows. Dean quickly ducks back into his bag.

‘Thank you,’ Cas says slowly. ‘I do like showers, but you can go first.’

‘All right,’ Dean says. He throws Cas a grin, then escapes to the bathroom from Cas’ piercing gaze.

He quickly washes and pulls on some clean clothes. When he comes back to the room, Cas is sitting in a chair, waiting and looking perfectly at ease. It’s weird, but it’s so Cas that Dean can’t help a smile.

‘All yours,’ Dean says, giving his hair one last rub with the towel.

Wordlessly, Cas gets up and walks into the bathroom. Dean’s not sure what to do now. Should he just get in the bed? Or should he wait for Cas to come out of the bathroom to ask which side he prefers? Does Cas have a preference? That thought puts Dean’s mind on a completely different track, one he quickly veers off of before he gets too far. Now really isn’t the time to think of Cas’ preferences.

Dean folds his clothes and puts his bag away. He stows his gun under his pillow, then shrugs and crawls under the sheets. He can always move if Cas prefers this side. He sits up against the headboard to read and make notes in the journal. He’s just finished when Cas walks back into the room, fully dressed in coat, suit, and he even put his shoes back on.

‘You know you’re not supposed to wear those in bed right?’ Dean teases, gesturing at Cas with his pen.

‘I don’t sleep, Dean,’ Cas says. ‘I don’t need the bed.’

‘So you’re just gonna sit in that chair and wait ‘til morning?’

‘As opposed to sitting on the bed and waiting until morning?’

Dean frowns. ‘That’s what you do at night?’

‘What did you think I did?’

‘I don’t know.’ Dean thinks for a moment. ‘I guess I just thought that you still needed rest, even if you don’t sleep.’

‘I can rest just as well in the chair as on the bed,’ Cas says. He moves to the chair, but as he passes the bed, Dean grabs his elbow.

‘No you can’t,’ Dean says. ‘Just get in the bed. It’s a lot more comfortable. Plus, I don’t think I could sleep with you just sitting there, feeling like you’re staring at me all night,’ he adds. It’s a lie. He would have no trouble sleeping with Cas watching over him.

Cas huffs out a put-upon sigh, but he toes off his shoes and shrugs out of his coat. He spreads his arms, silently asking Dean if he’s happy now.

‘You sleep in that suit, it’s gonna wrinkle,’ Dean points out.

‘I can iron it with a blink of my eyes,’ Cas says, but again he does as Dean suggested. He strips down to his t-shirt and boxers, hanging the jacket over a chair, and folding the rest into a pile to lay next to Dean’s clothes.

This was a really bad idea, Dean thinks as he feels his face heat up and can’t look away from Cas’ thighs.

‘Anything else?’

Dean’s gaze shoots up to Cas’ face. He clears his throat. ‘Could you get the lights?’

Keeping his eyes on Dean, Cas slowly lifts his hand, then snaps his fingers. There’s the soft _ta_ ck of the light switch, and the lights go out.

‘Show off,’ Dean grumbles as he puts away the journal and lies down. He quickly turns onto his side, his back to Cas, to hide his smile.

The mattress dips when Cas slides in on the other side, and then a slight tug on the sheets. A warmth that isn’t entirely human radiates off him. Dean suddenly feels very tired.

‘G’night, Cas,’ he says around a yawn.

‘Goodnight, Dean,’ Cas says, but Dean is already asleep.

~

When Dean wakes up, things feel weird. Not bad, just weird. _Different_. He blinks his eyes open and moves his head a little so he can look around.

‘Good morning, Dean,’ his pillow rumbles.

 _Don_ _’t make it weird. Don_ _’t make it weird. Don_ _’t make it weird_ , Dean chants to himself. So instead of making a dash for the bathroom, he slowly lifts himself off Cas and drops onto the real pillow.

‘Good morning,’ he rumbles back. And it _is_ a good morning. He feels more rested than he has in a long while; he hasn’t woken up once during the night, not from nightmares, not even to go to the bathroom. He doesn’t think he’s ever slept that well while lying next to, or rather on top of, another person. He pushes himself upright and sits on the edge of the mattress. He rolls his neck and stretches. He groans with pleasure as all his joints pop into place. He’s getting old.

‘Does it hurt?’ Cas asks.

Dean turns and pats Cas on the leg. ‘I’m fine. Just a part of being human.’

When he realizes what he’s doing, he quickly pulls his hand back and locks himself into the bathroom. So much for not making it weird.

Somehow, Dean manages to make the leg-pat the extent of the weirdness after spending the night on top of Cas. It’s easier than he thought it would be, mostly because Cas isn’t weird about it. The guy acts as if nothing’s changed, as if nothing’s happened. And it hasn’t, not really. Personal space has never really existed between the two of them, so what’s a little sleep-cuddling to all the rest. Right?

He doesn’t have much time to think about it, though, because soon Sam and Jack are at their door to get breakfast, and then they’re on the road again, heading home. The road is quiet and they make excellent time. Cas and Jack disappear inside the bunker almost immediately, but Sam lingers while Dean grabs a cloth to give Baby a quick wipe-down.

‘You seem happy today,’ Sam says. He opens up the boot and collects all the guns for cleaning.

‘We had an easy, uneventful hunt,’ Dean says. ‘We had burgers and beer to celebrate. I slept great. The road was easy, and now we’re home again. Without any bruises or broken bones for once. What’s not to be happy about?’

Sam takes a while to answer, and when he does he huffs out a laugh and smiles. ‘Yeah. I guess you’re right. Today is a good day.’

‘Damn right it is. Now get those guns inside and start teaching Jack how to clean them.’

‘I still don’t get why he wants to learn how to shoot,’ Sam sighs.

‘It’s a handy skill.’ Dean shrugs. ‘And if he’s gonna shoot ’em, he’s gotta clean ‘em.’

‘Right. See you in a bit.’ And with that, Sam walks out of the garage.

Dean gives the front grill one last wipe, gathers the trash from the car, and follows him. Cas has already grabbed his bag and will have dropped it in his room.

The rest of the day continues just as quietly. Sam and Jack clean the guns before going outside for practice. Cas brings a pile of books from the library to the common area and starts making annotations. He’s been doing that ever since Dean finally got him to officially move into the bunker. Turns out there’s some things the Men of Letters got wrong, and Cas has taken it upon himself to fix those. Sam’s not letting him write in any of the books and files though, so more and more books are covered in sticky notes. Dean does a load of laundry, then checks the kitchen to make sure they have enough food and drinks for the next couple of days, and starts making dinner. At some point, Cas walks in to continue to work at the kitchen table.

It’s not until Dean crawls into bed that something feels off. He knows what it is, but he tries to ignore the glaringly empty space beside him and fall asleep anyway. When he’s still wide awake two hours later, he gives up and gets out of bed. In the hallway he bumps into Jack.

‘Did I wake you?’ Jack asks, immediately looking concerned.

Dean shakes his head. ‘You didn’t. Know where Cas is?’

‘I think he’s in the library,’ Jack says. ‘That’s where I saw him heading to last.’

‘Thanks, kid.’ Dean claps Jack on the shoulder, getting a beaming smile in return, then continues down the hall to library.

‘Hello, Dean,’ Cas mumbles from behind a wall of books.

‘Hey.’ Dean hesitates on the threshold. Is this really such a good idea? It goes directly against the Don’t Make It Weird rule.

‘Is something wrong?’ Cas asks, popping up from behind the book-wall. His hair is a mess and there’s a smudge of ink on his cheek.

‘Couldn’t sleep,’ Dean says. _Screw it_. He crosses the threshold.

Cas looks at him with expectant eyes.

‘Look, I slept really well last night, with you there, so I was wondering… I was wondering if we could do that again.’ Dean’s heart hammers in his chest and his ears are ringing. ‘You can bring some books to continue fixing them. If you want,’ he quickly adds to sweeten the deal for Cas.

‘I would like that,’ Cas says with a smile.

Dean releases his breath, and smiles back. ‘Alright then.’

He grabs the pens, pencils and sticky notes while Cas grabs the books he wants to take with him, and they walk to Dean’s room in silence. Before any insecurity about what happens now can bubble up in Dean’s mind, Cas puts his books on the nightstand on “his” side of the bed and starts stripping off his clothes. Dean puts the writing supplies on top of the books, then crawls under the covers. It takes a bit of moving around before they find a position where Dean can use Cas as a pillow, Cas can keep working, and they’re both comfortable. It’s when Dean realizes that he doesn’t need a real pillow that they figure it out. The pillows all go behind Cas’ back so he can sit up against the headboard, but slouch down enough that Dean can put his head on his stomach. It takes another minute for Cas to arrange everything so he has his books and pens within easy reach.

Dean falls asleep to the whisper of turning pages and the scratching of pencil on paper.

~

They don’t talk about it. Dean’s pretty sure Sam and Jack know, but they don’t talk about it either. And at first that’s okay. It feels so good to curl up against Cas every night, whether they’re at home or on a hunt. He knows he’s safe with Cas, and that Cas is safe. It’s enough, until it isn’t anymore. He’s starting to feel selfish. He has no idea why Cas agreed to this arrangement. He’d probably get way more done if he didn’t have to work around a sleeping human. More than once, Dean has woken up to Cas carding his fingers through his hair. It feels good, so good, but Dean can’t help but think that maybe it’s something Cas does out of boredom, or even to get Dean to wake up faster.

That is why, one night, just after they’ve gotten comfortable, Dean blurts out: ‘Why did you agree to this?’

Cas’ pencil halts. ‘What do you mean?’

Dean pushes himself up so he can lean against the headboard next to Cas. It’s not very comfortable without a pillow behind his back, especially since his back is still hurting from hunkering down behind a couple of bushes waiting for a werewolf to show up two nights ago. But before he can find a more comfortable position, there’s a pillow behind his back, and an arm around his shoulders to support his neck. A surge of love that is almost overwhelming, washes over him. He looks at Cas.

‘Why did you agree to spend the nights with me?’ he asks, flushing at the implication of the words.

‘Because you asked,’ is Cas’ far too simple answer.

‘That’s not…’ Dean shakes his head. ‘I meant, what do you get out of it? This shouldn’t just go one way.’

‘This isn’t one way,’ Cas says, locking his eyes on Dean’s. ‘I enjoy spending time with you. I like being near you. I thought that was obvious.’ Cas huffs and narrows his eyes. ‘You Winchesters and your shyness for articulating your feelings is very frustrating sometimes, and I apologize if me being blunt in what is not “the heat of the moment”, makes you uncomfortable.’ He gently cradle’s Dean’s face, and Dean’s eyes widen when he continues. ‘I’m in love with you, Dean Winchester.’

Dean’s heart beats erratically for a couple beats, then a calm settles over him. He leans his forehead against Cas’.

‘I’m in love with you, too,’ he says. He smiles and bumps their nose when Cas smiles back, wide and toothy. ‘I have been for a long time.’

‘Thank you,’ Cas says.

‘For being in love with you?’ Dean chuckles.

‘Yes. And for telling me.’

‘Anytime.’

They lean in at the same time. The kiss is soft and brief, but it’s perfect.

When Dean slides back down, he expects Cas to pick up his book again, but instead Cas slides down, too. He gently nudges Dean onto his side, then presses his chest against Dean’s back.

‘You don’t wanna keep working?’ Dean asks.

‘If I have the choice between cuddling you and working, I infinitely prefer cuddling,’ Cas says. He wraps one arm around Dean’s waist, and slides the other beneath Dean’s head.

‘Your arm will fall asleep that way,’ Dean warns him.

‘I don’t sleep, Dean.’

Dean lets out a short bark of laughter. ‘Good point.’

The last thing he feels before falling asleep, is Cas pressing a kiss against the back of his neck.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://fandom-madnessess.tumblr.com/).


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